Local rapper Yo-Dot has released the mellow “Who Knew,” which features Prophetic, the Atlanta-via-Milwaukee rapper who was just in town for a nice homecoming set at Summerfest, and Marxus. Yo-Dot will play at the Bamboo Lounge (201 W. Mitchell St.) on July 29. Correction: The original version of this article said rapper Prophetic lives in Nashville. He currently lives in Atlanta. We regret the error.
Monday, July 21: Jack White with Benjamin Booker at The Rave, 8 p.m. (SOLD OUT) It’s difficult to remain prolific without stumbling onto some writer’s block every once in a while. Since 1999, guitar virtuoso Jack White has released 12 full-length studio albums with four different groups—The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather and under his own name—but for his latest solo record, Lazaretto, he looked through some old teenage journals for inspiration. The lyrics resemble nothing like the scribbling of an angst-filled high school student; instead, they are permeated with the calculated confidence and laid back humor of…
Monday, July: Bones Jugs N’ Harmony at the Jazz Estate, 9 p.m. The Champaign-Urbana four-piece Bone Jugs N’ Harmony incorporates more instruments into its arrangement than bands three times its size. Xylophone, kazoo, steel drum, clarinet, banjo, harmonica, and, of course, jug (among many others) appear in the ramshackle Americana outfit’s songs. The result is a confluence of genre—ranging from blues to turn-of-the-century ragtime—that is resoundingly fun and rowdy. (2423 N. Murray Ave., JazzEstate.com) Tuesday, July 15: Jackson Browne at the Riverside Theater, 6:30 p.m. ($49.50-$65 Younger listeners may only be familiar with Jackson Browne through the Nico-sung 1967 hit…
Most of the time debut albums play like first drafts. Very few bands storm out of the gate with a game-changing masterpiece. Rather, the initial release highlights weak spots that could easily be tightened up on the second try. Plus, band dynamics always seem to shift around in the first couple years and make adjustments to the songwriting process, as well. Follow-ups often paint a better-realized and more complete picture of what the band attempted to capture on the first crack. Garnering little response after an eponymous debut in 2011—due in part to its own laggard promotion—may have been a…
Monday, July 7: Free Metal Monday: Northless, Hivelords, Sadgiqacea and Asatta at Frank’s Power Plant 8 p.m. (FREE) An easy gateway to shed personal pain is through music, but perhaps no other genre offers quite a cathartic experience as metal. The brutally loud and aggressive songs can provide a massive, freeing release. Northless’ last album, World Keeps Sinking, highlighted some personal struggles of singer Erik Stenglein and the vulnerability earned the band its highest praise to date. Milwaukee stoner metal band Asatta and two Philadelphia-based metal bands Hiverlords and Sadgiqacea round out the bill. (2800 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., FranksPowerPlant.com) World…
The weather for a chilly, stormy Summerfest week finally turned into, well, summer. Skies were clear for Thursday night’s fireworks and the clear skies and warm weather largely stayed in town throughout the rest of the extended holiday weekend. Among the bands to usher in the celebratory weekend was The Hold Steady. The Brooklyn-by-way-of-Minneapolis’ band’s exuberant rock ‘n’ roll struck a perfect chord with the fireworks lighting up the lakefront during the show. The band set the tone for the night by starting its set with “Positive Jam,” the first song off its 2004 debut album, Almost Killed Me. Singer…
Tuesday night’s long-delayed fireworks display and the even longer-delayed warm summer night seemed to triumphantly mark the end of the season’s unseasonably cold, foggy, rainy days. But that wasn’t quite the case. Last night marked a return to form to the typical Summerfest experience this year, a damp, chilly evening that didn’t stop festival goers from staking out spots at the bigger side stage acts. “On a scale of one to wet, what are you right now?” local rapper Klassik asked the Miller Lite Oasis crowd as a slight drizzle fell. The genre-bending singer had a hard time connecting with…
All the shots from the Summerfest show.
When organizers announced the Summerfest line-up back in March, the bill seemed like a much more refreshing serving than the festival had dished out in years. Many praised the diversity and relevancy of the Marcus Amphitheater acts—Superbowl performer Bruno Mars, a recently reunited Outkast, Usher’s only summer date, not so many country artists. But the Big Gig didn’t just hit a home run with its main stage performers; it also booked music that detractors always complain is missing: rap. Due to a slight delay, Nashville-by-way-of-Milwaukee rapper Prophetic started his set at the Harley-Davidson Roadhouse 15 minutes late, but when he…
10. The 30th anniversary of Die Kreuzen’s debut full-length For Record Store Day this past April, seminal Wisconsin hardcore band Die Kreuzen reissued its very first release, the EP Cows and Beer. But this June also marked another reason to celebrate the group, as the month marked the 30-year anniversary of its eponymous debut LP on Touch and Go Records. While music writers seem to be fawning over grunge icons Nirvana with endless retrospectives on their discography and their impact on mainstream culture, they seem to be ignoring some of the underrated hardcore bands from a decade prior that put…
